French Roads vs English Roads!

[shithotfast]

Was a strange weekend driving down and back from Dieppe. I seem to be in a place where they build roads..... only get this feeling once a year - going to Lemans and back.

The roads were empty (more or less) all the standard holes that should be there were missing, no ruts, no traffic cones, very few gatsos or speed fuz... And super unleaded was about 85p a litre..... Hated it!

Glad to be back home where I feel safe - car jumps all over the road, nice big holes everwhere, petrol £1.06 a litre, speed gatsos every four feet!

Good weekend .... bit damp at times (must buy a car roof!) - BUt wot about all those cars ( TVRs mainly) with roofs UP! wot was that all about??

Hope everyone got back safe.

[snotrag]

I can guess what car you were driving by your username!

You passed us on the autoroute yesterday, I nearly pissed myself at www.shithotfast.com

The roads are fantastic, I loved it, fast, smooth and traffic free.

Even the drive home was brilliant fun, the autoroute and the Aires/services were chocked with fast motors!

[rude-boy]

shithotfast said:

BUt wot about all those cars ( TVRs mainly) with roofs UP! wot was that all about??

Can't talk for the Tuscans but most of us in Chims were full of clothes, tents, pots, pans, gas cookers, fancy french food, wine, and tabs. No room for the roof in the boot with all that lot!

[Cotty]

The roads were very good and smooth but no drainage, when it rained on the way down the spray was unbelievable and lots of standing water.

[Garlick]

I noticed how good the French are at lane discipline, they move out- overtake- and move back in again. After leaving the chunnel it was back to middle lane hogging, outside lane bunching and general rubbishness.

Also pleasing to see the French lining flyovers and laybys taking pics and cheering on the Brit cars on the way home- despite the appalling weather.

[Cotty]

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

[dpeilow]

Cotty said:

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

That goes on all over Mainland Europe. I find it useful as you know they are coming past, rather than convoying up with you.

But I have to agree with the lane discipline comment. We saw hogging the minute we left Dover, but once we got through to the cause of the blockage we found the white van culprit was French

[Garlick]

Cotty said:

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

I believe its to show the car in front that they wish to overtake you. Leaving the indicator on means 'don't pull out on me, i'm overtaking'

.....I think!

[ATG]

Cotty said:

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

Err, to show they are overtaking ? always strikes me as sensible.

[Cotty]

ATG said:

Cotty said:

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

Err, to show they are overtaking ? always strikes me as sensible.

I would have thought being in an overtaking lane would be sufficient indication that you were overtaking.

The french do like a bit of tailgating though

[ATG]

Think one of the reasons for better lane discipline may just be that most of the French motorway network are two lane roads, not 3 lane ones as in the UK. 3 lane roads give the middle lane moron the excuse that people still have another lane to use to overtake. Because of the way many people abuse three lane roads, they end up having little more effective capacity than two-lne roads. If you get on a French three-laner, the lane discipline starts to fall apart, and if you get anywhere near Paris in heavyish traffic, all bets are off; chaos.

[missdiane]

They dont like giving way on roundabouts though do they,
think they have the attitude if you arent within 3 foot of them they will chance entering roundabout with their 1.0L Twingo and hope for the best, cue lots of emergency breaking so we dont break our precious cars.

[ATG]

Cotty said:

ATG said:

Cotty said:

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

Err, to show they are overtaking ? always strikes me as sensible.

I would have thought being in an overtaking lane would be sufficient indication that you were overtaking.

The more information and warning you can give, the better. Also it focuses the driver's mind on the fact that they are performing an overtake manouvre, not just moving lane, cruising for a bit, then moving back again.

[ATG]

missdiane said:

They dont like giving way on roundabouts though do they,
think they have the attitude if you arent within 3 foot of them they will chance entering roundabout with their 1.0L Twingo and hope for the best, cue lots of emergency breaking so we dont break our precious cars.

Some old codgers seem to forget that traffic entering a roundabout no longer has right of way. Entering traffic does have priority in some Parisian roundabouts though which adds to the fun if you aren't paying close attention. Don't know if any other areas have kept up this quaint tradition.

[vetteheadracer]

We were staying in a village about 30 miles from Le Mans and although the paege roads are fantastic some of the D roads are bloody awful, i.e. the bumpiest roads ever, I had to slow down at one point as whole car was taking off over some of the bumps

French roads would be better if they removed the speed limilts!

[AngryS3Owner]

I may have been going a touch over the speed limit on the way back to the ferry yesterday and all I can say is 99% of their D roads put our motorways to shame for the quality of surface.

We even used the shortest route option of the satnav at one point taking us down some really shitty singletrack country lanes and they were still better than loads of the roads around here.

Shame that we don't seem to be able to get it right.

[Matt H]

I agree - the roads we great, one hold up at a toll booth, nice easy running.

Got back in the UK 50% more lanes on the motorway and was stuck on traffic on the M20 / M25, got off and got stuck everywhere else, ended up going via Cambridge to Shropshire - paying for it today!

[FossilFuelled]

Cotty said:

Whats with the french habbit of leaving their indicator on when they are overtaking.

If you don't do it whilst passing your test, you fail... it's mandatoy and how it should be done.

HTH

[Cotty]

FossilFuelled said:

it's mandatoy and how it should be done.

Not in my eyes. if im traveling in a straight line with no intention of turning or changing lanes my indicators are off. Its an indication of intention.

FossilFuelled said:

HTH

I thought txt spek was banned on these forums

[chris_speed]

Of the D roads I used, (from Caen, all the way to the outskirts of Le Mans, on the way) I agree with Vetteheadracer, they were in terrible condition. The signposting in Caen was very bad, and the ruts on some of the autoroutes were quite bad too! I wasn't expecting to say this given all the good things I have read about French roads! My Telepeage thingy worked well on the way back though, jumped a couple of queues